Monthly Archives: September 2013

We wanted to share with you some interesting data that we have recently compiled. Each year we analyze the number of group leaders in every country implementing Incredible Years®, as well as information on Certified Group Leaders, Peer Coaches, Mentors and Trainers.

For those of you who don’t know about our Certification Process, it is the process facilitators may apply for in order to become accredited in Incredible Years® programs. It is an extensive process that focuses on peer review and feedback as a means to assist group leaders with becoming more able to effectively use the Incredible Years® programs with fidelity. We strongly encourage facilitators to go through Certification because it allows them to become more comfortable using the programs and it provides such a strong focus on supporting them and celebrating their successes.

Take a look through the pie charts below to see statistics about where in the world people are being trained and becoming certified! (Click on the images to enlarge them.)

Follow below to see how Dina’s first foray into the world of fitness unfolds. You can also “comment” to share your own fitness tips and stories! (PS. If you are running IY groups, parents and kids might particularly enjoy this, we encourage you to share it with them!)

DAY #1

Dina: “I am thinking about an exercise program to help build stronger muscles. I need all of my strength to fly to many different countries! There is a lot of work that needs to be done to help people be friendly and solve problems all around the world – so this exercise routine is important! However, as I look at this exercise machine, I think it looks pretty difficult and a bit confusing. Where should I start? My arms? My wings? My tail???”

Okay, okay – I know. Just take it one step at a time! I’ll start with my arms first. Wow, this is hard… but it will be worth it if I can fly to more countries and talk to more and more children!Whew, how many reps did they say I should do of these?!

I think I am starting to notice my muscles getting stronger! But they are also getting really sore! That’s okay – I am persisting, concentrating…thinking positive thoughts and staying calm! Just a few more and I’ll be done for the day. I hope I feel okay tomorrow!

Geesh! I need a rest – I’m exhausted! And it’s only Day One! Next time I will get my friends to help me out – Being active with your friends is a lot more fun than doing this all on your own. We can encourage each other and hold one another accountable. I’m thinking maybe there should be more than one dinosaur to get around the world to help people with their problem solving!!

Dina Dinosaur (as many of you know) is used in the Child Programs, she is the “Dinosaur School Principal” and an integral member of the Incredible Years® family! This robotic version of Dina, which has been deemed “Dinatronic” has quite the personality, and we thought you all might enjoy! 😉

Check out these two videos, below (and on our website in the Child Programs section). In the first video, Dinatronic talks about Teamwork and meets Dr. Webster-Stratton. In the second video, Dina and Dinatronic talk about their Rules for Survival!

Earlier this year, Dr. Webster-Stratton had the opportunity to travel to West Bank, in Palestine, to meet with and observe those implementing Incredible Years® Parent, Teacher and Child programs at the Holy Child Program.

We did a special newsletter spotlight series, providing a detailed account of the trip, which you can read here and here.

A little bit about the Holy Child Program:

The Holy Child Program (certified by the Palestinian Ministry of Education) is a service of the Bethlehem Holy Child Program Corporation. The beliefs and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church provide the framework within which the services are offered even though the majority of the children are Muslim. The goal of the school is to provide an alternative education for children who suffer from untreated, complex mental health issues and exposure to intergenerational trauma. It provides individualized programs for each child and seeks to highlight a rich cultural heritage as well as partnerships with local providers.

We are now very excited to announce this video, which was made to showcase the program in West Bank and highlight the excellent work they are doing there! Please see the video below and share with your colleagues!

An exciting new study has come out evaluating the effectiveness of the Incredible Years® Parenting Program delivered to mothers being released from incarceration. (Published Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, August 2013.)

This is a study I’ve always wanted to do and now it has been done by a Dutch team at Utrecht University. Mothers of 133 children (ages 2 to 10 years) were randomly assigned to either an Incredible Years® parent program or a no-intervention control group. Mothers in the intervention condition were offered the program in group format while in jails as well as by individual home visits to enable individual practice work after mothers were released.

The results showed significant effects on parenting and child behavior according to maternal reports. Marginally significant effects were shown for child behavior according to teacher reports. The results show the short term effectiveness for this high-risk and hard-to-reach population. It is important because a recent meta-analysis indicated that children of incarcerated mothers had about a 10% chance of increased risk for antisocial behavior compared to peers. This approach shows promise in disrupting the transmission of delinquency from delinquent mothers to their children.

We wanted to finish up the main portion of our website tutorial. We hope this has been useful as you all get used to the new website! As always, feel free to contact us at any time with questions about where things can be found on our website.

This last tutorial is going to explore the side bar section of the website. There are some very important things here! On almost every page you visit in the website, you will see a side bar on the right hand side. There will be three sections: “Learn More,” “Quick Menu,” and “Newsletter Sign up.”

Let’s start with the “Learn More” section. Depending on where you are in the website, the links here will change. These are very important links! They will lead to further information based on the section of the website you are looking at. For example, if you go to the orange tool bar and hover over “Programs” and then click “Parent Training Programs” you will be taken to the main page for parent programs. The “Learn More” section then has links to each of the different parent programs with specific information to each program. See the illustration below!

The next two sections in the side bar, “Quick Menu” and “Newsletter Sign up” will be the same no matter what page you are on. The Quick Menu has links to common sections of the site, such as the Frequently Asked Questions and Workshop Schedule. The Newsletter Sign Up is just what is sounds like! If you have not yet had a chance to sign up for our monthly newsletter, you are welcome to use this Opt-In form to do so (you can unsubscribe at any time). Our newsletters contain information on upcoming trainings, new research, product information, and more!

If you have a moment, please take this quick poll to let us know if these tutorials have been helpful! Thank you! Also, stay tuned for another exciting Guest Blog Post from Carolyn Webster-Stratton, regarding new research on using Incredible Years® Programs with mothers in the jail system.